Corpus Christi Community Greenvale Incorporated

[2023] FWCA 1542

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Corpus Christi Community Greenvale Incorporated

(AG2023/1326)

CORPUS CHRISTI COMMUNITY GREENVALE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2023

Aged care industry
COMMISSIONER JOHNS	MELBOURNE, 1 JUNE 2023

Application for approval of the Corpus Christi Community Greenvale Enterprise Agreement 2023

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Corpus Christi Community Greenvale Enterprise Agreement 2023 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Corpus Christi Community Greenvale Incorporated. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

The Agreement lodged with the Fair Work Commission contained a cross-referencing error in Clause 27.1(a) of the Agreement. The Clause referenced Clause 0 and should have referenced Clause 27.3. The Applicant submitted the error was due to a corruption of the cross-referencing hyperlink/bookmark when the document was saved to PDF format. On 29 May 2023, the Applicant filed an amended Agreement page rectifying the error. I am satisfied employees covered by the Agreement were not likely to have been disadvantaged by the error and that the correction to the Clause should be made and that it is appropriate to do so pursuant to s.586 of the Act.

Pursuant to s.202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act, I note that the Agreement covers the organisations.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 8 June 2023. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2024.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of Corpus Christi Community Greenvale Incorporated involved an application for approval of the Corpus Christi Community Greenvale Enterprise Agreement 2023. The application was made to the Fair Work Commission, which is tasked with overseeing and approving enterprise agreements to ensure they meet certain legal standards. The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the requirements under the Fair Work Act 2009, particularly concerning the procedural fairness in its negotiation and the compliance with the Act's provisions.

The legal issues before the court included whether the necessary procedural steps were followed in the negotiation of the agreement, and if the agreement itself complied with the statutory requirements set forth in the Fair Work Act 2009. This included scrutiny over the representation of the parties involved, the fairness of the negotiation process, and whether the agreement contained mandatory terms as required by law.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith and that all procedural fairness requirements were satisfied. The Commission also determined that the agreement met all the statutory obligations under the Fair Work Act 2009, including the inclusion of mandatory terms. As a result, the Commission approved the application, endorsing the Corpus Christi Community Greenvale Enterprise Agreement 2023 as compliant with the necessary legal standards. This decision ensures that the agreement will now be in effect, governing the employment terms of the parties involved.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established